This article was originally posted to INDYCAR Nation on June 22nd, 2011. To view More Front Wing’s exclusive INDYCAR Nation content as soon as it’s released, sign up for INDYCAR Nation today at indycarnation.indycar.com.

*

There was a small bit of information at the end of the press conferences from The Milwaukee Mile on Sunday that was largely overlooked but will be of interest to the gearheads of the INDYCAR Nation.

It turns out that the engine that Dario won with this weekend was the same engine that he ran ragged while driving from 28th to 7th in the second race of the Firestone Twin 275s at Texas Motor Speedway. By natural extension, it was the same engine that he drove to the win for the first of those races.

But this engine goes even further back than that: it’s also the one that Dario ran for the full distance and led 41 laps with in this year’s Indianapolis 500.

“I should have asked [the team] before I got out,” Dario said. “I asked them when I got out of the car. Otherwise, I would have done some steamy burnouts because I won’t be using that [engine] again. But it was 1,400 and something miles that has done and just never missed a beat. It’s pretty cool.”

That performance is a great testament to the reliability of the engines that Honda has now been delivering to the IZOD IndyCar Series as its sole supplier for more than five years. It’s something that teams and fans alike often express an appreciation for but that many also have come to expect, possibly even take for granted.

But with manufacturer competition returning the Series in 2012 under new engine specifications, this point also has the potential to raise a great number of questions.

Honda currently provides a naturally aspirated V8 that produces 650 HP and hits a Series-mandated rev limiter at 10,300 RPM while actually being capable of quite a bit more. This shouldn’t in any way be taken as a knock on Honda, but those are hardly taxing specifications for a racing engine.

Next season, INDYCARs will carry twin-turbocharged V6s that need to be flexible to be tuned from between 550 to 750 HP depending on the type of track being raced. And, more importantly, they’ll be doing it under competition, which means a constant push to find more speed and improved performance.

In the past, this traditionally has meant reduced reliability. With rumors swirling that we may begin to see speeds creep up again as safety allows, particularly at Indianapolis, how often should we expect to see blown engines as manufacturers push their products to their limits? Will fans perceive this as a good thing in that INDYCARs may once again push the limits of technology, or will they be perturbed at the unfamiliar sight of favorite drivers losing races and championships due to external factors beyond their control?

After years of spec racing producing starting grids with ridiculously small differences in speed, will fans understand the greater intervals produced by multiple manufacturers as a good thing or as a decrease in the overall competitiveness of the drivers in the field? What if pack racing on 1.5-mile ovals goes away? Will more passing be greeted with open arms, or will the thrill of the danger of wheel-to-wheel action be missed?

What if one engine clearly dominates and only a select few teams ever have a serious shot at winning? The common complaint in today’s Series is that Penske and Ganassi don’t have consistent competition. But if, for example, Honda’s experience with INDYCAR means that they create an engine that gives the four Ganassi cars and the other Honda teams a distinct advantage, will fans perceive that as being any different from the way things are today?

And will INDYCAR be able to step up to the challenge of maintaining specifications that don’t cause the manufacturers to spend themselves out of competitiveness? It’s very difficult to strike the right balance between an environment that allows failing manufacturers to catch up and one that allows one company to spend so much that the others no longer see INDYCAR as a good business proposition. It’s been years since INDYCAR has needed to be concerned with this — can the sanctioning body achieve it? And given the many questions above, will fans want it to be achieved once they see the effect it has on the on-track product? Is a return to spec racing an inevitable part of the motorsports cycle, or can competition be maintained?

Now that the centennial running of the Indianapolis 500 is behind us, the attention of the INDYCAR community is about to shift heavily forward. Interesting times are ahead, and decisions are about to be made that will be pivotal for this sport’s growth potential going forward. What does the engine competition about to be reintroduced mean for the future of INDYCAR in your eyes? Please share your thoughts in the comments section below.

In my view, racing is not only a competition between drivers, it is a competition of engineering and technology. That means that at times there will be imbalances between chassis, engines, or tires. Unless someone is cheating, it shouldn’t be the job of the sanctioning body to equalize performance, it should be the job of the others to catch up. I know others disagree, that’s just my .02 cents worth…

I don’t believe being the sole engine supplier in the past gives Honda an inherent advantage. The the new, radically different, specifications mean a completely fresh page for all comers. If Honda is again a dominant force it will because they are simply that good at designing and buliding racing power plants.

In the past Toyota and GM just couldn’t keep up. We’ll see what the competition serves up to compete with Honda this time around.

I personally am excited for the Lotus turbo 6. I have not heard any news on its development status so who knows if they will even be able to make into the first race of 2012. But, I am a very optimistic person and feel that Lotus will be able to keep up with Honda and Chevy and at times beat them, especially if they have Cosworth helping them with the overall design and performance.

As far as aero kits go, I think that Lotus might have an advantage here. The reason I say that is because their specialty is in light-weight and handling and if they can effectively build aero kits with those thoughts in mind, Lotus will definitely have the upper hand when it comes to aerodynamics.

I don’t know about aerokits, but I believe Lotus has already contracted Judd to build their engine. The rumor was that they chose Judd over Cosworth because Judd’s bid was much, much lower. No one has yet been confirmed to be running their engines next year, though I do expect that to change in the next couple months.

I’d like to see Lotus do well, but so far they are the real mystery of the three manufacturers.

After giving this some thought, I’m not sure that durability or longevity will be an issue, especially at those power levels. There are multiple production engines of roughly that displacement producing half of the 550 hp level-while meeting fuel economy and emissions regulations, OEM drivability, NVH, and durability standards, all while on pump fuel and with components shared by economy cars. A clean-sheet alcohol-fueled racing engine with turbochargers shouldn’t have any trouble making the desired power levels and lasting as long as necessary.

The really interesting part will be the turbochargers-a simple tool for making power, taking it away, and equalizing the field. I’m curious how boost levels will be determined, maintained, and regulated.

As a pure racing fan…I would love to see durability and longevity be a part of the storyline next year. I enjoy seeing drivers not only performing at the bleeding edge of their capabilities, but I enjoy seeing the machines performing at the bleeding edge of their capabilities too. That, in my opinion, has been what makes the spec-racing leagues so boring nowadays.

Aside from minute changes to aero and suspension/weight, there’s no real gamble that the mechanics can take to give their driver a real advantage anymore. An engineer can’t cam-up the engine or screw with the stoich or mess with the guts of the machine anymore to improve performance. The result is a race winner who’s driver/team was best able to figure out just a fractional part of the bigger science behind creating a winning race car.

I want to see a return back to the good-old days of racing where the gearheads have as much to do with a car’s chances to win as the eggheads do. While the multiple aero/engine packages is a welcome step in the right direction, I still believe that there’s more room to go. I’d love to see a new Indy era where the league allows the mechanics to open up the engines again and wrench out their wins and losses. I’d love to see a team come across the Yard of Bricks in first place with a smoking engine that had every single inch of its life wrung out of it, and I’d love to see a team have to tow their car back to the pits because they asked just that inch too much.

Most of all, I’d love to see a shootout between two cars from each end of the racing spectrum, duking it out to the finish to settle racing’s most debated question: Which way wins? Power or handing?

MoreFrontWing.com is not affiliated with any racing series, sanctioning body, stakeholder, or other association or subsidiary. Copyrighted material is employed under Fair Use guidelines.
If you are a copyright holder and feel your material has been used unfairly, please contact feedback@morefrontwing.com.